NACA Airfoil Optimization
Application ID: 30681
The aerodynamic properties of a wing, propeller, or turbine blade are to a large extent determined by the precise shape of the airfoil that is used. The NACA Airfoil Optimization application computes the two main aerodynamic properties (the lift and drag coefficients) of a fully parameterized NACA airfoil. It can be used to visualize how changes to the airfoil thickness, camber, and chord length affect the aerodynamics.
When you enter the fluid flow's Reynolds number into the simulation app, the appropriate fluid flow interfaces and meshes are automatically chosen based on this number. Low Reynolds number simulations are performed with the Laminar Flow interface, while high Reynolds number simulations use the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, which has been specifically developed for airfoil design simulations.
The airfoil geometry is fully parameterized and you can choose to either enter the airfoil's dimensions directly or let the app’s optimization solver find the optimal geometry in order to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio.
This application example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.